So this is my first time polishing. My car is only a few months old but the dealer had put in some nice swirls during the new car prep(the car was siting on the lot for several months), also some holograms on the hood, and a few water spots. The car hasn't had a proper sealant applied since I got it, just some quick detail wax(CG V7) with every wash.
I watched and took notes from several youtube videos, like drive clean and ammonyc(he does an amazing job explaining everything), enough to build up my confidence in doing this.
Products used:
Uber Clay Bar
Griot Garage 6" DA Polisher
Uber Backing Plate
Meguiar's Microfiber Cutting Pad
Meguiar's Microfiber Finishing Pad
Menzerna FG400
Menzerna SF4000
Menzerna Power Lock
Method:
Wash(always three buckets) then clay everything.
Used FG400 on the cutting pad, followed by an IPA wipe down.
Used SF4000 on the finishing pad, followed by an IPA wipe down.
Every polish I did a snake-like overlap pattern.
After half the car I used a brush to fluff the MF pads back up.
When the car was done and all polish residue was removed, I followed up with Power Lock and waited until hazed over then buffed out.
Overall I'm pretty happy with the results, Jet Black looks amazing when it's polished and the PL makes it look like glass. I think I was too conservative with the amount of pressure and duration while I was polishing, mostly from fears of burning through the clear coat. I got out about 70-80% of the swirls and water spots out, while some of the deeper scratches are still there. I also removed a really bad bird crap etching that I'm really happy about.
Anyway, I'm open to suggestions for the next time I do this. I'm still a little uncertain how long I'm supposed to polish a section with the FG400 and SF4000.
Here are a few low quality low light iPhone 5 photos, by the time I finished it was almost night.
